Figure 1.--

Some ballet and other dance schools that are successful at working with boys have adopted specvial approaches. Many schools report attracting a few younger boys, but by middle school, boys are put under great pressure to stop dancing. While mothers are often suportive, many fathers are not.

One such dance group is the Dance Shoppe. When Jan Miller founded The Dance Shoppe in Plymouth, Minnesota 20 years ago, the male enrollment at the school remained constant for the first 12 years-- one boy. But with a few small changes in scheduling, personnel and procedure, the last eight years have seen a continuous increase in the number of boys not only enrolled at the school, but representing the school at competitions across the country.

Today, The Dance Shoppe boasts a 900 percent increase in the number of boys enrolled since those early years. Ninety young men, ages three and up, take ballet, modern and tap classes. “It is hard to get boys into dance classes,” Miller admits. “They get picked on in school because of it, particularly around junior high school age. It’s very difficult for them. I’ve found, however, that if you can just get them in the door, willing to try it for about a month, they eventually get hooked.

The stereotype of dance as a feminine activity has kept boys out of dance studios for years, despite the popularity of successful male dancers like Nureyev and Baryshnikov on the ballet stage, as well as Travolta, Hines and Swayze in films. More recently, thanks to young dance sensations, like Savion Glover and the stars of Tap Dogs and Stomp!, the male dancer has taken on a new look and a new identity, one that has motivated more boys to give dance a try.

We have specific ways that we work with the boys,” says Jeanette Thagard, co-owner of Patty’s Dance Center in Newark, Ohio, a studio with more than 150 boys. “We make sure that they don’t dance like the girls, that we don’t give them any ‘feminine’ moves. They also don’t wear tights. We don’t put them in the same costumes as the girls either. We’ve been to competitions where you can’t tell the boys from the girls during the performances we make sure there is a difference.

We’re probably more lenient with the boys, too,” adds Thagard. Since many of the male students are actively involved in team sports such as football, basketball and soccer, they are permitted to miss a class here and there because of sports commitments. “We’ve found that flexibility has been necessary to keep them interested,” she says. Thagard also finds that the use of contemporary popular music keeps the boys excited about dancing. Countering the requirement of one ballet technique class with a weight lifting class helps maintain the boys’ interest while enhancing their performance and reconfirming the masculine aspects of the artform. The male students at the school also regularly invite non-dancing male friends to watch rehearsals, resulting in even more male students at Patty’s Dance Center.

While some studio owners find that fathers are the ones most resistant to their sons’ taking class, the dads have never been a problem at Patty’s Dance Center. In fact, about 30 of them, ranging in age from 23 to 60, are so impressed by their sons’ dance activities that they take class themselves, spending an hour a week just having fun with macho moves and funky routines. Thagard instructs and choreographs the fathers’ classes and performances as well as those of all the male students. She works with her brother Billy, who at 22 is one of the older male students and a significant role model for the younger boys, and her assistant Adam, who frequently travels with her on teaching assignments where they demonstrate to male class participants.

With a little creativity and sometimes a willingness to offer a bit of favoritism, it is possible to attract boys in sizable numbers to the world of dance. Having the support of family and friends helps as well. The image of the male dancer has changed. Let the boys know.

To get boys "in the door," The Dance Shoppe's Jan Miller suggests these marketing strategies.

1. Give free classes. "I've taken a bit of flack from some parents about offering the boys classes for free since their daughters have to pay," says Miller, "but the approach works." Miller has also offered free "fun" classes such as jazz and hip hop to boys if they enroll in traditional classes such as ballet, modern or tap.

2. Offer "all boys" classes. Miller has observed over the years that boys participate more fully when they are all together. "They leave their inhibitions outside the class," she says.

3. Employ male dance instructors. Male role models in the studio help inspire the younger students.